Kiribati - Foreign trade

The loss of the phosphate industry, copra price fluctuations, and the
islands' remoteness have hindered overseas trade, but an upward
trend in foreign trade was perceptible in the 1980s. Copra—the
only commodity exported by Kiribati—accounted for 64% of total
domestic exports in 1996. Fish and seaweed are also exported, accounting
for 14% and 8% of total exports, respectively. Kiribati's main
export partners are the US, Australia, and New Zealand. Australia
provides 44% of imports; Fiji, 19%; Japan, 15%; New Zealand, 4%; and the
US and China, 5% each.

In 1999 Kiribati's imports were distributed among the following
categories: